Patriots Reportedly Not Frustrated With Gabe Jacas Despite Contract Issue

Patriots Reportedly Not Frustrated With Gabe Jacas Despite Contract Issue originally appeared on NESN.
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The New England Patriots drafted Gabe Jacas in the second round of the NFL Draft, but he has yet to sign his contract.

Jacas was dealing with a hamstring injury before the NFL Draft that kept him out of the NFL Combine and Illinois’ Pro Day. He has missed OTAs and the mandatory minicamp. Mike Vrabel revealed earlier this offseason that Jacas underwent a clean-up procedure on his knee. That procedure or injury seems to have something to do with the contract holdup.

According to Patriots insider Mike Reiss, the team is looking for financial protection in Jacas’ contract. 

“Jacas hasn’t been with the Patriots since May, according to a source,” wrote Reiss. “His absence is tied, in part, to not being given a standard ‘participation agreement’ from the Patriots, according to a source. Most draft picks receive such an agreement, which states that if they were to sustain an injury prior to signing their first NFL contract, the team would still be obligated to sign him to a contract based on the slot he was drafted.”

As training camp gets closer, Jacas risks falling behind. As a rookie, it is important for him to adjust to the NFL, and every day he is not with the team sets him back slightly. However, Patriots insider Greg Bedard revealed that although the situation is not ideal, the Patriots are not “frustrated or upset” with Jacas.

“From the people that I’ve talked to in the building, and I’ve asked them directly, and they could be lying to me, I don’t know, but they are not frustrated or upset or anything with Gabe,” Bedard said on Patriots Press Pass on CLNS Media on Tuesday. “This isn’t ideal.”

Bedard noted that all of Jacas’ injuries should have been known to the Patriots during the pre-draft process, so it’s not something that has come up out of nowhere. He noted that the Patriots knew Jacas would miss the offseason and were supposedly fine with that. However, the contract not getting signed is something that may not have been anticipated.

“As long as the Patriots knew about (his injuries), where we are right now, should not be a surprise to anybody,” said Bedard. “He was going to miss the offseason to get right. My read on it is the Patriots were just fine with it. They understood that.”

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